The Sacramento Kings keep sinking deeper into their early-season crisis, and DeMar DeRozan finally said what everyone around the team felt. After the Kings fell to 3-13 with a 137-96 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday, DeRozan described the locker room atmosphere as a “s–tty place,” per Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee. It marked their eighth straight defeat, and none of the losses came close to competitive.
Memphis punished Sacramento from the opening tip. Santi Aldama dropped 29 points, Jock Landale added 21, and the Grizzlies built a massive first-half cushion behind crisp ball movement, ESPN reports. Vince Williams dished out a career-best 15 assists as part of a franchise-record 42 assist night. Zach LaVine tried to keep the Kings afloat with 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting, but the Kings collapsed again after halftime.
The loss also arrived hours after the team announced Domantas Sabonis suffered a partial meniscus tear in his left knee. He will be reevaluated in three to four weeks. Without Sabonis anchoring the paint, Memphis carved up Sacramento’s interior. Zach Edey and Landale combined to hit 12 of their first 13 attempts, fueling a 75-47 halftime lead that ballooned to 113-76 entering the fourth.
Afterward, DeRozan did not bother with optimism, per Bleacher Report. “Don’t nobody want to lose the way we’ve been losing,” he said, per Biderman. He followed with another blunt assessment. “I think everything right now for us is just s–tty, honestly. Sometimes when you’re in the deep end, it’s hard to hear anything. You’re just trying to swim your way out, one way or another.”
DeRozan logged only 15 minutes in the loss and scored seven points. LaVine, meanwhile, finished with eight on 4-for-10 shooting and missed all four of his three-point attempts.
A Collapse Defined by Double-Digit Losses
Sacramento has dropped all eight games in the skid by double digits. Four losses included margins of at least 27 points. Thursday’s 41-point defeat was the worst of the season.
Even before Sabonis’ injury, the Kings struggled to generate anything consistent with their new DeRozan-LaVine pairing. The numbers illustrate how severe the issue has become. Sacramento has a net rating of minus-21.6 with both stars on the floor, per NBA.com. The team rarely gets organized defensively, and the offense stagnates when early possessions break down.
Keegan Murray’s return from a preseason thumb injury offered some hope, but even he could not shift the momentum. He scored 11 points in his first outing of the year.
Pressure Rising on DeRozan and LaVine
With Sabonis sidelined for at least a month, DeRozan and LaVine must stabilize the group. Sacramento committed significant financial resources to the duo, who make more than 72 million dollars combined this season. That accounts for nearly half the team’s cap, per Spotrac.
The Kings face the reigning champion Denver Nuggets next, and the schedule will not lighten soon. DeRozan made clear that the emotional frustration inside the locker room mirrors the product on the floor. The Kings know where they stand, and they know who must lift them out of it.
Sacramento has endured rough stretches before. This one feels heavier, louder, and more urgent because of the expectations tied to their star-heavy roster. Saturday’s matchup will reveal whether DeRozan’s honesty sparks any real shift or whether the skid deepens against another elite opponent.
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